


The Dinner

by Nightimer



Series: Tantrum [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bonding, Family Bonding, Feelings, Gen, Non-Consensual Spanking, Spanking, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27482068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightimer/pseuds/Nightimer
Summary: Third in my series, Joe and Cecile decide to unofficially adopt Harry into their family and have him stay with them. They try to explain this over dinner but of course Harry takes it the wrong way and things just go down hill from there.
Series: Tantrum [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2008216
Comments: 11
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third in a series and directly references the previous two stories so you may want to read those first. At least the second one as this one takes place during the same day. There is non consensual spanking in this but that's probably why you clicked on this anyways so, fair warning. I hope you enjoy!

"Babe, could you bring me the pepper flake seasoning?" Cecile called out as she stirred the sauce currently simmering on the stove top.

"Don't you have enough in there already?" Joe asked her good naturedly as he obligingly brought her the requested spice. He couldn't help smiling at how she had to angle herself slightly sideways of the stove due to the size of her growing belly. 

"You can never have enough seasoning," she responded as she took the shaker from his hand, giving him a quick kiss as a thank you.

"Uh huh, tell that to Barry," he joked. "I've never seen a face turn that shade of red before after he tried one of your special tacos."

"It's not my fault that boy can't handle his spices," she teased back as she added some of the seasoning to the pot, albeit a little less then she had originally intended. 

"Hon, no one can handle that amount of spice, unless they're a meta human that spits fire I suppose.

Cecile took the kitchen towel off her shoulder and swiped at him with it as he playfully retreated back to the counter top and the cutting board he had been dicing onions and peppers on. The West household was filled with the delicious smell of the slowly cooking spaghetti sauce and homemade garlic bread baking in the oven.

"What time did you tell Harry to come?" she questioned him as she brought the wooden spoon she had being stirring with to her lips to taste the sauce. Frowning, she immediately added more pepper flakes.

"I told him dinner would be ready around seven but he knows he's welcome anytime before that," Joe responded as he finished dicing the last bell pepper.

"Somehow I doubt the idea of sitting around for a couple hours before dinner would be appealing to him at the moment," Cecile joked as she resumed stirring her now appropriately seasoned concoction.

"You're probably right about that but he has no-one to blame but himself," he explained good naturedly as he scooped the chopped vegetables into a small bowl and walked back over to her.

"I know," she replied somewhat sympathetically as she took the bowl from him and scraped the contents into the sauce. "Still, he's going to be embarrassed and uncomfortable," she pointed out.

Joe turned to give her his full attention, hearing the slight concern in her voice.

"Cecile, is there something on your mind?" he asked her, always the detective.

She stirred the sauce for a moment in indecision before putting the wooden spoon down and turning to face him fully.

"Okay, I've been thinking about this all day. I could hear his thoughts today Joe and Harry just seems, I don't know…," she waved a petite hand in the air, "lost…lonely," she finished with an exasperated shrug of her shoulders.

"Is something going on that I need to know about?" Joe questioned, a hint of worry in his tone.

"No, no…" Cecile began as she took a moment to formulate a coherent response that Joe would understand. Harry's mind moved at a breath taking pace and she had been _inundated_ with thoughts from him when she had inadvertently provoked him in his lab earlier. "It's nothing like that," she added hastily. She raised her right hand to rub at her temple for a moment as she tried to condense everything she had gleamed from the slim scientist. She closed her eyes before placing both hands out in front of her.

"Okay, Harry may give the impression that he's a solid rock but he's actually quite fractured, with many vulnerabilities," she began, hoping her analogy was sufficient in illustrating the complexities of Harry's emotions. "He's confident and in charge when there is a crisis but when it's over, he sort of flounders aimlessly, no purpose, no immediate need for his expertise, and he begins to doubt himself and his position here on our Earth, with us," she explained slowly, hands dancing before her as she used them to help visually put her thoughts into order.

"Honey, Harry knows how much he means to us, to all of us," Joe stated as he looked at her, head tilted slightly in confusion.

"That's just it Joe, I don't think he _does_ , not really," she explained as she walked the short distance over to him and grabbed his hands in her own. She looked up into his eyes. "On the surface he knows that we like him but he thinks it's only because he is useful," she added, gazing up at him with imploring eyes, hoping he was comprehending what she was saying here.

"You ' _heard_ ' all that from him?" Joe questioned her, wanting to make sure he was dealing with facts here and not Cecile's interpretation of said facts, although he would be the first to admit that she was usually right about these things.

"He was quite upset when I complained about the dampener he made me and that just sort of…," she released his hands to throw hers up in the air before her, "….opened the flood gates. Harry wants friendship, affection, _family_ , but he doesn't think he himself deserves it. It's very complicated and I don't quite understand all of it myself but it doesn't take a genius to see that Harry is looking for that here, with us. From what I've heard the others say, the only family he has is Jessie and she's grown, living her own life now and leaving him essentially all alone. He doesn't have friends back on his earth, he's said so before. He just has us Joe," she finished quietly, once more reaching for his hands and feeling him enfold her much smaller ones in his.

"What are you suggesting?" he said patiently as he ducked his head down slightly to look at her, knowing she had a reason for bringing this all up.

"We all think of him as family, so why not make it official? Well…, unofficial since technically Harrison Wells is wanted for murder on this Earth and well, _dead_ , so it would be a …,"

"Cecile?" Joe gently interrupted her rambling. "Just tell me whatever it is you're trying to tell me."

She squeezed his hands and smiled widely up at him.

"let's adopt him!" she said excitedly.

Joe stared at her for a moment, confused.

"Say what now?" he asked as he stared down at her beaming face.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Harry stood just outside the West's front door, reluctant to take the next step and knock on the heavy wooden portal. Earlier he had debated about whether to even come at all, but he _had_ told Joe he would be there. He also suspected that if he didn't show up, Joe would just hunt him down and drag him over, with the added possibility of further _attention_ directed towards his rear for his defiance. That was something Harry wanted to avoid at all costs. While Joe had only physically taken him to task twice now, that was all the data Harry needed to see a pattern and hypothesize this would be a reoccurring thing between them.

He reached his right hand into the pocket of his black blazer, fingering the new and improved mental activity dampener he had created for Cecile. It calmed him slightly as he mustered up the courage to announce himself. It had been hours and hours since Joe had bent him over in front of her and had smacked him like one of his kids and while the pain had all but faded, the humiliation had not. When Joe had spanked him that first time, it had been in the privacy of the secluded lab. This time he had done it in front of Cecile and while being physically disciplined like that by Joe was bad enough, having it done in front of someone else had been beyond embarrassing. He didn't know how to act around them now and that uncertainty was the main driving factor in his reluctance to see them tonight. It was going to be so painfully awkward. This was a bad idea, he should just leave….

Harry turned away from the door and made it as far as the stoop of the porch when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?" he heard Joe ask as he turned around to see the other man standing in the now open doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, head tilted to the side with one eyebrow raised in question. Harry stared at Joe's sudden and stealthy appearance for a moment, uncharacteristically at a momentary loss for words before he mentally kicked started his brain into gear.

"Detective," he said in way of greeting as he swept the material of his blazer away from his hips in order to place his hands in his pants pockets. "I…," he started, ready to spin the other man a plausible excuse as to why he was suddenly departing but Harry was called a genius for a _reason_. He took one look at the other man's face and abandoned any attempt at deceiving Joe and simply stood there, looking at him resignedly and waiting for him to make the next move.

Joe smiled at him slightly, understanding Harry's dilemma.

"Get in here," he gently ordered him with a jerk of his head towards the living room behind him.

Harry looked down at his feet for a moment and pushed his glasses back in place with one finger, before nodding his head in acceptance and walking back to the doorway. As he stepped passed the other man, he felt a warm companionable hand pat him on his back.

"Hi Harry," Cecile called out as she exited the kitchen to greet him as he crossed the threshold.

"D. A. Cecile Horton," Harry replied in that customary formal way of his but Cecile simply smiled at him and walked over to reach up and pull him down into a hug.

Without thinking about it, Harry immediately accommodated her non verbal request and leaned down to allow her to wrap her arms around his neck, gently placing his ownarms around her to reciprocate the hug. She squeezed him affectionately before releasing him, allowing him to stand back up to his full height.

"I hope you're hungry, dinner is almost ready," she said as she stood back.

"It smells delicious," Harry responded as indeed the whole house was filled with the welcoming sent of spices and garlic. Soft jazz played soothingly in the background. As Joe closed and locked the door behind him, Harry reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the small device he had spent all day creating for her. "Here," he said as he held it out to her, watching her take it from his hand and study it curiously. "That's the…,"

"Mental activity dampener…,"she paused to listen to his unspoken mental addition, "… _sorry_ version 2.0," she smiled as she held the small and decidedly lighter device in her equally small hand.

"Just adhere it to your supraorbital ridge, you block West out," he began to explain before he stopped himself in order to tell her the most important thing. "Look, I'm sorry about the whole…," he paused to pantomime one of his rage episodes, "It's just lately…,"

Cecile stopped his awkward apology with a palm against his chest as she held the device close to her heart with her other hand.

"Thank you Harry," she said simply.

Harry looked down at her and took her gesture for what it was. She had forgiven him and he needn't say anything more about it.

"You're welcome," he replied in turn. She patted his chest once before turning back to the kitchen.

"I've got to go check on dinner, make yourself at home Harry," she called over her shoulder before disappearing into the other room.

A glass filled with bourbon appeared at his elbow and Harry looked to his left to see Joe smiling approvingly at him as he held out the offering.

"Thought you could use this," Joe explained as Harry gratefully took the glass of amber liquid from him. He knew the alcohol would help ease some of the other man's obvious tension and help him to relax and hopefully enjoy this evening. Joe knew that Harry would be a bit wrong footed around them after what had happened in his lab earlier today and he wanted to show the other man that it was over and done with and that Joe wasn't angry with him any more.

"Thanks," Harry responded as he quickly took a sip. The liquid burned wonderfully on his tongue and he pursed his lips and squinted in appreciation as it warmed the back of his throat as he swallowed. He watched as the detective poured himself a glass before he turned back to him, gesturing towards Harry's blazer.

"Come on, make yourself comfortable. You're going to be here for a while," he suggested as he made his way over to his favorite recliner and sat down in it.

Harry nodded and set his drink on an end table next to the couch before shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it on a hook by the front door. Clad in his customary black long sleeve shirt, Harry had switched out his black jeans for black slacks and dress shoes instead of his combat boots for the occasion. He knew Joe and Cecile didn't really care what he wore to their house but he felt it was important to dress a little more appropriately when one was invited to dinner. He retrieved his drink and walked around the couch to sit in the corner of it, leaning back against the cushions and crossing his right leg over his left.

"Thank you, for helping Cecile," Joe began as he mirrored Harry's posture. "I have a pretty good idea of what she's had to listen to every night and I wouldn't wish that on anybody," he added as he raised his glass in a salute before bringing it to his lips for a sip.

"Of course detective, I can only assume that listening to you scream about being naked in math class would keep even the heaviest sleeper awake," Harry said nonchalantly as he took his own sip, watching as Joe immediately choked on the bourbon he hadn't yet swallowed.

"She told you that?" he croaked out as he tried to make sure the liquor went down the right pipe and not into his lungs. He coughed once as he watched Harry tilt his head slightly to the side and look at him from the corners of his eyes, a behavioral quirk of his that Joe had yet to decipher exactly _what_ it meant when he did that.

"No…?" Harry drawled out slowly in the form of a question, a smirk trying to appear across his handsome features but he valiantly held it back.

Joe saw it and snorted in amusement.

"Smartass," he called him affectionately and just like that, the tension had evaporated between them. The two men visibly relaxed and Joe was pleased to see that the scientist wasn't going to hold a grudge about earlier. It wasn't something they had really talked about afterwards, _either_ time, and Joe was relieved to see that his extra _attention_ towards the other man wasn't going to affect their relationship in a negative way.

"I know I'm no scientist but, do you think you could explain that device you gave to Cecile to me in a way that I might understand?" Joe asked him as he carefully took another sip.

"Oh, I think you’re smarter then you let on detective, so that shouldn't be too difficult," Harry stated before launching into a relatively easy explanation of the mental activity dampener that Joe was actually able to follow with minimal clarification.

Cecile peeked out from the kitchen to see the two men deep in conversation and smiled to herself. She had been worried that Harry would be too embarrassed and upset about being punished by Joe earlier, that he would find it difficult to interact normally with him but it seemed like they had worked it out between them and everything was back to normal. That was a good sign, a great sign actually. It was a testament to how much Harry actually liked and respected Joe and that made the decision she and Joe had come to earlier in the evening all the more justified in her mind. Harry wanted acceptance, wanted to be loved, wanted a family.

And _that,_ was exactly what they were going to give him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please ignore mistakes...pretty please?

"Alright fella's, dinner's ready," Cecile called out as she walked to the dinning table and placed a large bowl of salad down.

"Good, I'm _starving_ ," Joe commented as he placed his almost empty glass of bourbon on the coffee table. Harry took one last sip from his before placing it down and following Joe to the open area dining room that connected with the living room.

"Honey, would you bring out the sauce?" Cecile asked him as she indicated to Harry to take a seat. Joe did so and after a second trip, all the food was laid out on the set table.

"This looks amazing Cecile," Harry complemented her as they took their own seats.

"Thanks Harry, but it was a joint effort," she replied with a smile towards Joe who was already loading his plate with spaghetti.

"Don't listen to her, she did most of it," he teased good naturedly as he handed the bowl of pasta over to her. She served herself and passed the container to Harry who took it from her with an appreciative smile.

"Well in that case, I'm sure it _tastes_ amazing as well," he joked as he ladled pasta onto his own plate.

"Was that a dig about my cooking?" Joe asked him as Harry set the container down and reached for some garlic toast.

"Barry said there is a reason you only use Grandma Esther's' recipes and not your own, but I'm sure he was simply just exaggerating," he explained with a slight smirk of amusement, looking up at Joe from the bottom of his eyes.

"Wait till that boy starts begging me for Grandma Esther's famous chicken he loves so much," he muttered mostly to himself as he accepted the plate of toast from the grinning scientist.

"Joe, your cooking is just fine," Cecile consoled him as she twirled spaghetti around her fork.

"Just fine huh?" he teased her and she quickly brought her forkful of pasta to her mouth to avoid answering.

Harry chuckled quietly at their antics and the easy way they interacted with each other as well as with him. It helped to put him even more at ease as they bantered fondly. They included him as well and Harry found himself enjoying the dinner and the company, finding himself wondering why he was so worried about coming this evening in the first place. Their conversation bounced between many eclectic topics and Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself as both Joe and Cecile easily followed his more scientifically bent narratives. The dinner itself was indeed just as delicious as it had looked, even though it was a tad bit on the spicy side, Harry was actually enjoying the first home cooked meal he had had in weeks. His usual sustenance was composed mainly of greasy food from Big Belly Burger.

As they finally finished, Harry took one last sip from his glass of red wine before turning to Cecile.

"My compliment's to the chef," he began as he saluted her with his wine glass. "That was most enjoyable and it may be sacrilege to say so, but I think you can give Grandma Esther a run for her money."

"At least one of us can," Joe quipped as he stood up with his dirty plate in hand.

"Oh hush," she admonished him before turning back to Harry, favoring him with a beaming smile. "Thank you Harry, that is the utmost compliment you can give in this household. I'm so glad you enjoyed it." She stood up as well and reached for his empty plate. Harry quickly held up a hand and picked it up himself.

"Please, allow me to help clean up," he said as he stood and reached for her own plate, taking it carefully from her and stacking it on top of his own.

"Oh, you don't have to…," she began.

"I want to," he gently interrupted her, and she seemed to understand this was his way of thanking them for the meal. She smiled in return and went to stack more plates on top of the two he held in his hands.

"Come on, I'll show you where to put them," Joe called over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen.

With hands filled with more dirty dishes then he would have suspected three people could have used in one sitting, Harry followed Joe into the kitchen and over to the counter next to the sink, placing his burden carefully down. Cecile walked over to them with several bowls and cutlery that she had piled on top.

"I'll wash, Harry you can dry, and Joe, you can put the clean dishes away," she delegated and Joe shrugged his acceptance while Harry nodded.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Joe replied as he turned to begin filling the sink with warm soapy water for her.

"Why don't you just put them in the dishwasher?" Harry asked her curiously as she pulled out a medium sized towel from a drawer to the right of the sink and handed it to him.

"If you haven't noticed, we're a bit traditional in this household," she explained as Joe stepped back to allow her access to the sink, kissing her on the head as he passed her and out to the dining area to retrieve the dishes that were left.

"I've noticed," Harry commented, mostly to himself and Cecile instantly knew what he was referring to but refrained from mentioning it in order to not embarrass the slim man. She only smiled in return, meeting his eyes with her own in understanding before gently turning him towards the sink with a small hand on his elbow.

"Come on, let's put those talented hands to work," she said as she pushed the faucet over the other half of the sink and began to fill it up with clean water for rinsing. Harry pulled up his sleeves and stood next to her in companionable silence as he waited for it to fill up. After they were all set up, Cecile started with the drinking glasses, carefully scrubbing them with a soft sponge before gently dropping them into the sink filled with clean water where Harry obediently retrieved them, dunking them a few times before toweling them dry. Cecile hummed quietly to herself as she worked and Harry found himself listening to the surprisingly melodic tune, entertaining himself by trying to figure out the song with his albeit limited knowledge of this Earth's musical history. Joe brought the last of the dishes from the table and by that time, Harry had a small stack of glasses dried and all ready to go.

Joe walked over and tapped Harry gently twice on his right hip to get him to shift a little so he could grab the cleaned glasses. Harry reacted to Joe's gentle touch immediately without thinking about it and stepped closer to Cecile in order to give him the access he needed. It briefly crossed his mind at how easy and comfortable Joe was with touching him, like how he was with Barry and Iris. Come to think of it, all of Team Flash was so effortlessly tactile with him despite his efforts to discourage them. Heck, Barry had even hugged him in pure joy only _days_ after meeting him when he had successfully closed one of Zoom's breaches. He watched as Joe grabbed a wine glass in each hand before walking over to a hanging cabinet and opening the door.

"Wine glasses go here," he clearly instructed Harry as he placed the glasses upside down on the top shelf. Harry nodded at the information even though he was confused as to why Joe thought he needed to know where they stored their dishes. He briefly looked down at Cecile to see if she thought this was as odd as he, but she was busy scrubbing at a plate. Harry picked it up after she had finally dropped it into the water and dried it with the same amount of care he did the glasses. Joe was suddenly beside him and took it directly from his hand since he had already put away all the drink ware.

"And plates? They go here," he directed Harry's attention to the cabinet next to the one with the glasses, pulling open the door and placing it on the bottom shelf.

"Okay…," Harry said slowly, wondering if the other man was going to explain why he was sharing this information but Joe just walked over to retrieve the next plate Harry had just finished drying.

"Harry, focus," Celie chided him softly as he puzzled through Joe's actions. He looked down to see her holding out a knife to him, handle first. She obviously didn't want to drop it into the water without him realizing it and potentially cutting himself in his suddenly distracted state.

"Yep, okay…Sorry," he admitted as he carefully took the knife from her and rinsed it. He dried it off and held it up to Joe who had walked back to his side. "And the silver ware?" he questioned the other man, already having deduced that he was going to be taught where every single piece of dishware and cutlery was to be stored.

Joe smiled at him as he took the proffered utensil and deposited it into a butcher's block that held the other cutting knives. He raised an eyebrow at the dark haired man in question.

"Got it Detective," Harry replied as he gave a thumbs up before turning back to the task at hand. It didn’t take long for them to wash and dry the rest of the dishes and after it was all said and done, Harry knew where every pot, pan , dish, fork, spoon, knife, and glass was stored in the West's kitchen. They finished cleaning up the kitchen, wiping down the counters and washing out the sink, then they made their way back out into the living room.

Although the couple hadn’t indicated any such thing, Harry glanced at his wrist watch, noting the time and wondering if he had out worn his welcome. He didn't see Cecile observe his subtle actions and nudge Joe in the side to bring his attention to it. She gave him a meaningful look.

"How about a game of chess?" Joe said suddenly and Harry turned to look at him in surprise, consciously dropping his wrist to his side. He hesitated for a moment, trying to decide on the polite way to take his leave. He noticed Cecile walk over to a hall closet so he focused his attention on Joe who was standing more or less in front of him.

"Joe, Cecile, thank you for the wonderful dinner but it's getting pretty late…," he began but was cut short by the sound of Cecile placing a wooden box down on the dining table. He turned to see her open it to pull out a chess board and place it flat on the table, the pieces scattered haphazardly inside the container which she enthusiastically dumped out onto the wooden surface.

Harry looked at Joe and Joe looked back at him and favored him with a small shrug, clearly saying 'what can you do?' before walking over to a chair and pulling it out.

Harry glanced one more time at his watch then back to Cecile's expectant face. He sighed in defeat before walking over to the same chair he had occupied during dinner, positioning himself directly across from Joe. He watched Joe gently shoo Cecile away from the pieces she was setting up on the board, which she allowed, and took her leave to curl up onto Joe's favorite recliner with the excuse of going over some paperwork from a case she was working on, obligingly pulling out a thick manila envelope from a side table drawer.

The two men silently preoccupied themselves with setting up the board, Joe with the white pieces and Harry with the black.

"Heads or tails?" Joe asked him and Harry looked up from placing the last black knight to see Joe holding a quarter in his hand.

"Tails," he responded and Joe immediately flipped the coin into the air with his thumb and the two men watched it twirl in the air before it landed on the polished wood surface, spinning on it's rim for a brief moment before finally coming to a noisy stop, head side up.

Harry bowed his head in Joe's direction and gestured with his right hand that the detective should take the white pieces that traditionally went first in chess.

Joe was good at the game, but Harry was a master, easily beating the other man the first go around. Not liking how easily he had been defeated, Joe insisted in a rematch which Harry obliged him with. This time though, it was different. Harry may have been a master at chess, but Joe was a master at detection, noticing behavioral patterns and learning how to think like the person he was observing. The whole time during the first game, he had been studying the man across from him, analyzing his moves, unraveling his thinking process. This time, armed with the insight he had rapidly gained from watching Harry play, he put his new found knowledge to use and to the surprise of both men, he actually won.

"Check mate," Joe called out triumphantly.

Harry's startling blue eyes darted over the board, trying to see if there was any escape for his king but Joe had called true. He was truly and completely check mated. He graciously surrendered, tipping his king onto it's side in acknowledged defeat.

"Well played detective West," Harry complimented him. "Not many have been able to best me in chess, especially after only one game."

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Joe admitted as he sat back in his chair, extremely pleased with his victory but trying not to show it.

"Want to see if you can do it again?" Harry challenged him and Joe raised an eyebrow at the other man's intrigued tone. It was obvious he had impressed the physicist and he was curious to see if Joe could pull off another win. If it were anyone else, Joe would have been confident that he could but against Harry…?

"You know lightening never strikes twice right?" he reminded him as he never the less began resetting the board.

"Actually it does. You only need to observe the tops of this city's sky scrappers during a storm to see multiple bolts striking the same lightening rod over and over again," Harry informed him in that abrupt way of his that annoyed Cisco to no end as he repositioned all the pieces on his side of the board. He glanced up briefly to meet Joe's eyes, a knowing smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth. "But we will see if that's the case here."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Joe muttered as he contemplated on how he was going to pull off the impossible for the second time in a row.

"Hey fella's, I'm going to get something to drink. Anybody want anything while I'm up?" Cecile called out as she laboriously vacated her chair and walked over to the table, standing just behind Harry. Both men politely declined her offer, but she hesitated a moment, gesturing silently to Joe who quickly caught the movement and glanced up at her. She gave him a _very_ pointed look before subtly indicating Harry who was bent over the chess board, contemplating his first move.

Joe grasped her meaning immediately. She was clearly telling him he needed to have _that_ conversation with the other man and now was the time to do it. He nodded once at her and watched as she smiled encouragingly before disappearing into the kitchen. Harry remained oblivious to the silent exchange that had taken place over his head. Joe cleared his throat.

Harry paused, his fingers lightly gripping a pawn as he looked up at the other man.

"Something on your mind?" he questioned him, quirking an eyebrow.

"Actually yes," Joe admitted as he leaned his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together before him. "There's something important I want to talk to you about and I guess now seems like a good enough time as any," he explained and he watched Harry release the pawn he had been about to move and lean back against his chair, crossing his arms across his chest as he gave Joe his undivided attention.

"Well, that sounds rather ominous," Harry pointed out before a jolt of worry zinged through him. "Is something wrong?" Was there a new metahuman threatening the city? Was there something wrong with one of the team? Something to do with Jessie? His heart beat increased noticeably at that particular thought.

Joe immediately picked up on the other man's instant anxiety and quickly moved to put him at ease, unclasping his hands to hold one up and gently pat the air.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. What I want to talk to you about is actually a good thing," he said with a small smile. "At least Cecile and I think it is, and I hope you will as well." he added and was pleased to see the worry leave the physicists expression only to be replaced with one of curiosity.

Harry uncrossed one of his arms long enough to gesture with one hand that Joe should proceed.

Joe took a deep breath and decided he was going to get straight to the point.

"We've never said this out loud I think but I hope it was obvious by now. We all care for you…me, Cecile, the kids, and consider you a part of our family," he began sincerely and watched as Harry briefly dropped his gaze in embarrassment, clearly uncomfortable with the topic but the slight smile at the corner of his mouth indicated that he was also touched by the sentiment. "And it's _not_ because you are useful to the team," he emphasized, pointing a stern finger at the other man's surprised face as he looked back up. "It's not because of your intelligence, your technical ingenuity, your invaluable experience…It's because you are you, and we like _you_." He wanted to make sure Harry understood that very clearly. "Do you get me?" he asked as he watched Harry digest what he had just said.

"Thank you Joe, I can assure the sentiment is reciprocated," he said simply as he picked up a pawn and fiddled with it. This was a quirk that was shared with every version of Harrison Wells that Joe had ever come in contact with, the need to hold something in his hands when uncomfortable. It appeared to be his way of coping with anxiety and had the added benefit of supplying him with ammunition when he needed to throw something during a pique of anger. He always seemed to have something in his hands when working with Cisco come to think of it.

"I'm glad to hear that," Joe smiled as he leaned back in his own chair. "Since we've already established we think of you as family, Cecile an I have decided to, well….unofficially adopt you," he finished, watching the other man intensely to gauge his reaction. He was well aware that this admission would probably come as a bit of a shock to the normally emotionally distant scientist.

Harry looked at him in confusion, dark eyebrows drawn together, lips slightly parted in a disbelieving smirk. Surely he had misheard the other man. He turned his head slightly as if to hear him better.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, as he uncrossed his arms and laid them on the table top before the chess board, interlocking his fingers as he tried to puzzle out what Joe meant by 'adopt'.

"I know, I know," he waved an understanding hand in the air. " I know it sounds weird but that's the best word we could come up with," Joe explained with a light chuckle. "We want to make you really a part of this family." He waited a beat to see if Harry had anything to say to that but the dark haired man was silent as he continued to stare at Joe in that calculating way of his, so he forged ahead. "…and that also means we would like you to move in with us, here. None of us like the idea of you staying at Star labs, alone at night in that big empty building and we feel it would be better for you if you had, well, a home to come to, friends to talk with, a safe place where we could look out for you and help you when you need it," Joe elaborated as he continued to look for any indication that would clue him in to how Harry was taking this news. The other man was frustratingly opaque.

Harry's mind was positively spinning with his rapidly cycling thoughts as his mind digested all that Joe had just said. He was so inundated with conflicting thoughts and emotions that he was finding it difficult to choose a response to all this data. He had to take a mental step back and break down the information he had just received. Joe said they were family. He wanted him to move into their house. He didn't like him being at Star labs on his own.

While Harry wanted to accept what Joe was saying at face value, his inherent distrust and self esteem issues ultimately overwhelmed any warm thoughts he might have had at Joe's declaration. His mind reeled with probing questions. _Why_ didn't he like the idea of Harry staying at Star labs? Did he not want him there for some reason? Did he see something in Harry's behavior that made him suddenly not trust him? Or was it something less sinister but as equally unpalatable, like he thought Harry needed a keeper, someone to keep an eye on him and possibly control him as he couldn't seem to control himself?

Harry's memories quickly drudged up the two times Joe had taken him to task over his actions and the confusion and suspicion he had been feeling quickly turned to anger. All the affection he had previously interpreted from Joe, quickly morphed into the distorted thought that it was all a calculated act on the other man's part to lure Harry into trusting him, to do as he asked, to put Harry under his thumb. Or was it simply the fact that Joe thought he needed a babysitter? A part of him rebelled at this reasoning, knowing deep down that Joe was an honorable man and did in fact deeply care for those he was close with, but his anger issues and inherent mistrust overrode his common sense as it was prone to do and Harry immediately took the defensive. After all, Joe _had_ tried to shoot him when they had first met, had punched him in the face, and had hauled him by his collar down to a pipeline cell which he had _literally_ thrown him into. Why would Joe care about him this much? Or at all? It was too good to be true. It just had to be. No one, besides possibly Jessie, cared for him like Joe had just professed to. _No one_.

Joe couldn't hear the other man's thoughts but he could read his body language and expression well enough now to tell this wasn't going down as well as he had hoped. Clearly Harry was having some issue with what he had just said but Joe was damned if he knew what it was. He watched as Harry unclasped his hands calmly, placing them flat down on the smooth surface of the table. He could see those blue eyes briefly flicker over the chess pieces and wondered if Harry was transposing his thoughts onto the board in order to best calculate his next move. Apparently he came to a decision as those blue eyes suddenly flicked up to meet his and held his gaze intently.

"While I appreciate the sentiment and the… _concern,_ you have expressed, I find myself in the uncomfortable and equally _absurd_ position of reminding you that I am an adult. And as an adult, _I_ determine what I need, _when_ I need it, and no one else has any say in that matter." Harry raised a finger in the air before him. "And…, may I also remind you, I am an accomplished scientist that routinely makes revolutionary break throughs in my field , that also raised a child singlehandedly while building the most advanced particle accelerator humanity has ever seen," he finished with a definite edge in his voice that hadn't been there before.

Harry knew he was being irrational but part of being irrational is not being able to stop yourself.

Joe immediately picked up on the confrontational tone and quickly made a move to diffuse the sudden tension before it got out of hand.

"Hold on, no one said anything about you not being able to take care of yourself," Joe started to explain but Harry quickly cut him off.

"So what...you just want to keep an eye on me then?" he ground out, his voice becoming more raspy and a noticeable contrast to the softer tone he had affected earlier in the evening.

"What? No! Look, this whole conversation isn’t about any of those things you seem to think it is," Joe informed him with a hint of his own agitation creeping into his voice. Leave it to Harry to twist something so innocent into a plot against him. He had to remind himself that this negative outlook from the other man was a perfect example of why he and Cecile had decided to take him under their collective wing.

"Isn't it?" the slim man challenged him. Joe raised one eyebrow at the tone in warning.

" _No_ , it isn't," he reiterated firmly. "We just want to be there for you, like we are for all of the kids," he added honestly, referring to the younger members of team Flash in the hopes of helping Harry to understand his true intentions here by giving him a reference he could relate to since Joe _knew_ Harry felt the same way for them.

"How many times do I have to remind you, I am _not_ …one…of…the… _kids_ ," Harry enunciated slowly, his words clipped and dripping with contempt.

"My guess is until you stop acting like one," Joe fired back as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair to stare disapprovingly at the other man, favoring him with a look that would have sent both Barry and Iris scurrying if it had been directed at them.

Harry stared back at him for a long moment, trying to control his anger at that statement. Why was Joe so stubbornly set on constantly treating him like a badly behaved child instead of the accomplished and respected scientist he was?

And why did Joe's disapproval rankle him so much?

He caught movement to his right and saw Cecile standing at the corner of the kitchen entrance, silently watching the exchange, and suddenly realized he had absolutely no desire to put on another show in front of her today. She had to think the worst of him already for his outburst earlier in his lab and now here he was again, in their home they had willingly invited them into, participating in another confrontation with her significant other.

"Joe, Cecile, thank you for a wonderful dinner," he began as he leaned back and pushed his chair away from the table. "But I must be going. I have work to finish back at Star Labs," he finished as he stood up, politely pushing his chair back under the table and nodding to Cecile before turning towards the living room.

"Hold on a minute, we're not finished here," Joe interjected as he pushed himself out of his chair and stood to face Harry.

"The game will have to wait till next time," Harry said dismissively as he exited the dining area, making a b-line for the door and his coat.

"I wasn't talking about the chess game and you know it," Joe admonished him as he quickly followed him towards the door. Why was Harry being so difficult? How had the discussion gotten out of control so quickly? That was something he was going to have ponder at a later time. Right now he had to make sure Harry didn't walk out that front door.

"I don't care," Harry couldn't stop himself from saying as he reached out a hand for his coat. He was startled when a large hand wrapped around his outstretched arm, curling around his wrist firmly and arresting any further attempt to retrieve his coat.

"I said…we are not done," Joe said lowly as he held onto Harry's wrist, squeezing it ever so slightly to emphasize his warning.

Harry decided to ignore that warning. With an agitated movement fueled by indignation, Harry twisted his right wrist first up then down and back, wrenching it free from Joe's restraining hold and taking a step back so he could square up with the other man.

"Don't touch me!" he spit out as his body tensed in anticipation, realizing that he was starting to cross a line here but unable to stop himself.

"Okay, you're going to knock it off _right now_ and calm down," Joe warned him sternly, voiced raised as he leveled a finger at him, his expression clearly conveying he wouldn't put up with anything less then Harry's complete compliance in this.

Harry had heard the warning in the other man's voice and could see it written all over his face but he just couldn't bring himself to care. He was seething. He knew he had an anger problem, had never tried to hide it, but he was smart enough to realize that right now he was only weakening his position in this argument and strengthening Joe's. And that just made it so much worse.

"You know, telling some one to calm down _always_ produces the exact opposite response!" Harry retorted, his own voice raising as he gestured angrily at the other man.

"Last…warning…," was all Joe said.

Harry stared at him for a moment in surprise. Was that really all Joe thought he had to say in order to diffuse this situation? That Harry would obey, just like that? Well Joe could just take his warning and shove it up his…

"Now turn around and go sit down," Joe added with a jerk of his chin back towards the couch.

This time Harry's jaw dropped at the _nerve_ of this man. Was he freaking serious? Harry sucked his teeth and shook his head in utter exasperation as he made to push past Joe and open the front door. He would retrieve his jacket some other time. His fingers had just brushed the door knob when he felt a hand wrap around his right bicep and another latch onto the back of his collar. Before he could react, he was forcibly pulled back away from the door and spun around to face the living room. He felt Joe quickly let go in order to reposition his hold, grabbing Harry's left arm and holding tight as he fisted his other hand into the material of his collar again, forcing Harry to bend slightly forward due to the nature of the hold. Harry was familiar with this hold and knew Joe was going to manhandle him further into the room. He resisted, yanking his arm and taking a step back to try and pull away from him. He momentarily thought he had succeeded when Joe's right hand released his collar but his victory was premature as Joe drew his arm back, aimed, and brought his open hand down _hard_ on Harry's right buttock. The sound of it was slightly muffled by the material of his slacks but it was still loud in his ears, and the pain registered a fraction of a second later. The force of the swat had actually snapped his hips forward and only Joe's grip on his arm had kept him from losing his balance.

Harry's breath caught in his throat. He immediately stopped struggling and froze in complete shock. His right hand quickly snaked behind him to cover the spot Joe had just smacked as he twisted his head around to stare at him wide eyed. That had to have been the hardest Joe had ever struck him and he needed a second to process this.

"If you won't calm down on your own, I will help you," Joe said evenly as he yanked on Harry's arm, dragging the startled man past the living room and into the kitchen. They passed Cecile who was watching them both with concern but Joe shook his head once at her and she took a step back, allowing him to handle this his way for the moment but ready to jump in if things got out of hand.

Joe hauled the slim scientist over to the one bare corner in the kitchen, stopping for just a moment to grab up one of the breakfast bar stools. He placed the stool down with a little more force then necessary in front of the corner before using his grip on Harry's upper arm to pull him around and in front of the seat, his back to him. He then yanked hard backwards, causing the startled man to bump up against the stool and fall butt first onto it, his momentum almost toppling him backwards as the stool tipped with him onto two legs. Only Joe's steadying hand, braced firmly against his back kept him from landing on the floor. As the front legs made contact with the floor once more, Harry planted his feet and automatically braced his left hand on the corner wall while the other hovered uncertainty above his right thigh. His heart raced with the brief shot of adrenaline the near fall induced.

"Now you are going to sit here, quietly facing the wall for ten minutes and you are going to calm down. Once you do, then we are going to finish our conversation like mature adults," Joe explained from behind him. Harry twisted around on the stool to stare at him, clear shock written all over his features, his blue eyes wide behind his glasses.

"You…you're putting me in time out?!" Harry asked him in utter disbelief. Joe couldn't be serious. _Was_ he serious?

"What do you think?" Joe asked him with a raise of an eyebrow indicating it should be obvious that, that was exactly what he had done.

"I honestly don't know what to think," Harry replied, utterly at a loss as to what was happening. He didn't know what was more surreal, the fact that Joe had just put him in the corner or that he thought Harry would actually stay there.

"That's what corner time is for," Joe explained with a hint of sympathetic understanding. He knew this would be hard on the other man, submitting to this type of treatment. But it really was for his own good and if he was going to be staying with them, then he was just going to have to get used to it. There was only room for one head of the household and Joe had no intention of giving up his title.

Joe held his finger out and twirled it around a couple times, illustrating that he wanted Harry to face the wall.

"Now turn around and put your nose in that corner," Joe helpfully instructed him.

"No," Harry said defiantly as he shook his head. He wasn't going to simply submit to this childish treatment and sit quietly in timeout. He wasn't. He planted one foot firmly on the ground and his right hand on the wooden seat in preparation of pushing himself up.

Joe interpreted his intentions and quickly stepped closer behind the slim man in order to place both hands on his shoulders, squeezing firmly as he forcibly twisted Harry's upper body back around to face the corner. Keeping his left hand locked on his shoulder, Joe quickly placed his other hand against Harry's right thigh and pushed, easily moving the dark haired man's lower half towards the wall.

"Get off…," Harry growled as he tried to pull Joe's hand off his shoulder. He didn't notice Joe's other hand raise up and take aim.

"OW!" Harry yelped out as Joe's heavy hand came down on the side of his right thigh, creating an awful sting. His hand immediately covered the spot, whether to rub out the sting or prevent Joe from adding more smacks was unclear. He glared up at Joe in betrayal.

"Don't give me that look, that was all on you," Joe admonished him as he released him, pointing once more towards the wall. "Corner, now," he added sternly, his patience growing thin as he loomed over him from behind.

Harry opened his mouth to retort but Joe quickly cut him off by lifting Harry's protective hand up and off his thigh, holding it out of the way as he landed an even harder swat on the exact same spot as the first.

Harry hissed in pain as his leg jerked and he tired to twist his hand free. Joe held firm so Harry quickly utilized his left hand to cover the spot, squeezing his eyes shut as he rode out the sting. When he opened them again Joe was making eye contact with him.

"You gonna do what I say, or are we going to continue?" he asked as he raised his hand up again.

"Alright! Fine…I won't move," Harry quickly spat out, pissed he had lost yet another battle with this man. Joe raised an eyebrow at him but released his right hand. Harry brought it down to his thigh, using both hands as a shield in case Joe decided two smacks hadn't been enough. He peered up at him resentfully.

"Ten minutes, nose in the corner, and you don't get up until I tell you, got it?" Joe stated as the other man turned away from him, tension radiating from every muscle.

Harry kept silent as he stared at the wall, crossing his arms tightly across his chest, mouth pressed firmly closed.

Joe seriously contemplated smacking him again but decided that this was at least progress. Harry was sitting in the corner, even he wasn't doing it gracefully. He stepped away and walked to the kitchen entrance and Cecile who was looking at him questioningly, pausing long enough to point a stern finger at the other man.

"Ten minutes," he repeated warningly. He saw Harry turn his face slightly to one side to glare at him with one blue eye before quickly facing forwards again, letting out a huge put upon sigh as he did so. Joe shook his head as he gently steered Cecile out into the living room.

Safely out of ear shot, Cecile rounded on him.

"Joe, what happened? What did you say to him to get him so upset?" she asked quietly, one hand on his arm.

"I think he took us wanting him to stay here and be apart of our family as us not trusting him and wanting to keep an eye on him," Joe told her truthfully.

Cecile let out a sigh of her own. They should have realized this might have happened. Harry was absolutely brilliant but was a bit emotionally stunted. It's not too difficult to see why he had misinterpreted their good intentions.

"So how do we get him to understand all we really want is for him to be apart of our family?" she asked him as he pulled out a dining chair for her to sit down on.

"Well," he sighed, "I'd say just keep treating him like family," Joe replied as he sat down in the chair beside her, spreading his hands wide.

"That's it?" she asked him dubiously, raising one graceful eyebrow at him.

"And," he began, giving her a look that said he was well aware that wasn't it, "…sit him down and make him listen while we _explain_ it to him, something I was _trying_ to do when he started losing his temper," he added with a rueful smile at her.

"And that's why he's sitting in the corner right now," she stated with a knowing look.

"He needed a moment to calm down and it always worked on Barry and Iris," he explained as he glanced at his watch. "I just hope ten minutes is enough. I don't really want to but if he keeps pushing me…," he trailed off with a deep breath, leaving the obvious threat unsaid but Cecile heard it all the same and grasped his hand in hers, squeezing supportively.

"I know," she said as she patted his hand. "I know."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! More mistakes! I know I said I wouldn't post until completely finished but, I feel like this one got away from me and its a loooot longer then I anticipated. More coming but as always, please be patient.

Back in the kitchen, Harry was trying to come to terms with the fact that he had been placed in timeout and failing miserably at it. He stared at the corner where the two walls met without really seeing it as his mind raced. This was just humiliating. Joe had meant for him to sit here and calm down but he only got angrier as every second ticked by. He shouldn't be sitting here.

His right leg started to bounce up and down in in effort to help dissipate his growing agitation at being essentially forced to sit here staring at nothing. He shook his head. His leg bounced faster. He checked his watch. It had only been about two minutes.

"Yep, okay, not going to do this," he said quietly to himself as he looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching. He was alone. He turned around on the stool and looked around the kitchen, spotting the back door. Harry knew that Joe had no intention of letting him leave tonight with out least having another pointless conversation and Harry had absolutely no intention of sitting through one so his only option appeared to be exiting quietly and expediently through the back door.

As quietly as he could, Harry stood up and made his way to the kitchen door. He found the lock and turned it slowly, wincing a little at the click it made as it disengaged. He pulled the door open just enough for him to slip through and with one last look behind him, made his escape. Once outside in the cool crisp air, he quickly but quietly closed the door behind him and made his way across the back porch and down the steps. His dress shoes sunk deep into the grass as he crossed carefully around the backyard to the side of the house. He made sure to stoop down as he passed under the windows, one hand trailing along the wooden siding of Joe's house. Harry had to force himself through some bushes but eventually made it to the front yard. He kept to the side, near the hedge as he slunk like some burglar out to the street and the Star Labs van he had left parked in front. He made his way around the vehicle and silently thanked himself for parking on the right hand side of the street as it put the driver's side door on the side facing away from the house and provided him some cover from anyone looking out from the house. Congratulating himself on his imminent escape, Harry reached for his keys and…

He froze as his heart dropped down into his stomach. The keys to the van were in his coat pocket, the same coat he had left hanging on a hook in the West household.

Harry reached for the door handle, desperately hoping he had left the van unlocked. He pulled but the door remained closed. Already knowing the keys wouldn't be there, he patted down all four of his trouser pockets, praying by some miracle he would feel their hard outline under the thin material, hear their unmistakable jingle. No such luck.

"No, no, no, no…," he whispered to himself. He quickly tried to come up with a way to salvage this. He thought about calling a cab but his phone was in his jacket pocket as well as his wallet so even if he had somehow been able to hail a cab, he had no way to pay for it.

"Damnit," he cursed as he glared through the glass at the steering wheel, the glow of the streetlights illuminating the dark interior. He brought his left wrist up and looked at his watch. Eight minutes had passed since Joe had left him in the corner. There was slim to no chance of him sneaking back into the house and that damn corner before Joe discovered his absence. He slammed his right fist lightly against the window in frustration and rested his forearm there, staring into the cab as he tried to figure out what he should do. Maybe he could simply break the window and hot wire the van…?

"You really should have thought this through," a sarcastic voice suddenly spoke out from the darkness beside him.

Harry jumped and twisted his head to the right to see Joe standing at the rear of the van, arms crossed, his figure silhouetted against the light from the street lamps, concealing his face in darkness. Harry could only stare at him for a moment, his heart beating faster as he felt the unmistakable tingle of dread dance down his spine. He closed his eyes and shook his head once at his own incredible stupidity before slowly sliding his forearm off the glass to turn towards the other man.

"This is exactly what it looks like," Harry commented dryly, unable to resist the gallows humor that suddenly possessed him.

"Get your ass in the house," Joe snapped in response, stabbing a finger in the direction of the front door as he took a step closer and into the light. His expression was thunderous and Harry immediately felt the need to explain himself.

"Joe," he tried but the other man said nothing and simply began stalking towards him in such a manner that instantly set off Harry's fight or flight reflex. Harry's back bumped painfully into the side view mirror of the van as he tried to put distance between himself and Joe. He quickly sidestepped it and walked several steps backwards in the direction of the house, keeping his gaze locked firmly onto the other man's advancing form, hands raised up before him. He stumbled over the curb and was finally forced to face forward, quickening his pace as he made his way up the walkway and to the steps, taking them two at a time in his haste. He could hear Joe's heavy steps on the stairs and he quickly reached for the door handle, pushing it open. He had one foot across the threshold when Joe finally caught up with him. A heavy hand in the center of his back pushed him the rest of the way into the house and Harry stumbled for the second time that night as Joe closed and locked the door behind them. He quickly turned around and took a couple steps back but Joe was already moving. A hand latched onto his right upper arm and Harry found himself being hauled past Cecile and into the kitchen. Joe stopped only long enough to grab one of the armless dining chairs on his way past, carrying it in his left hand while he dragged Harry along with his right.

"What are you…?" Harry started to question but the sound of Joe slamming the chair down on the kitchen floor startled him into silence. He watched as Joe turned the chair to face them before dropping himself into it, perching on the edge of the seat. His grip on Harry's arm forced the dark haired man to bend over slightly.

"Joe?" Harry said worriedly, having a good idea what Joe was about to do but desperately hoping he was wrong.

Joe switched his hold to Harry's left arm and forced the other man up against his right side, their legs touching. He pulled again and Harry fell awkwardly against him, his left forearm braced against Joe's thighs, his right hand braced against Joe's knee, with most of him still off to the side of Joe, twisted in such a way as to keep him from lying across the other man's lap.

"Wait!" Harry tried to persuade him as he pushed against Joe's lap, tugging his arm, and bracing his left knee under the chair seat so Joe couldn't haul him up and over.

Joe grunted as he tried to haul the uncooperative body across his lap. Harry was resisting and had somehow positioned himself in such a way that was preventing Joe from pulling him down fully across his knees. He quickly let go of Harry's left arm in order to lean forward over the slim man and wrap his arm down and around his back, keeping him from standing up as he leaned over him to the right to see how Harry had wedged himself. He saw the long leg positioned under the chair and knew he was going to have to straighten the leg out if he was going to get Harry's backside in position over his knee. Thinking quickly, Joe took his right hand and ran it underneath the other man's body until he came to the place where Harry's upper most thigh met his hips. Joe dug his fingers into the joint and immediately felt Harry react to the pressure, his whole body jerked and the bent leg straightened out in an effort to move away from the uncomfortable feeling. Joe waisted no time and grabbed onto the back of Harry's belt, with one hand and his hip with the other and _heaved_.

Harry couldn't stop his forward momentum and felt his stomach slide over Joe's hard thighs, his upper body falling over Joe's left leg while his lower half was pulled up against and slightly over Joe's right thigh. Harry braced his left hand down on the floor as his feet momentarily left the floor in a pathetic attempt at helping him balance, before the toes of his shoes finally found purchase once more on the floor where they rested uselessly. He felt Joe's warm arm come down over his lower back and wrap tightly around underneath his stomach, pulling him closer and keeping him pinned firmly down. Harry tried to push himself up but he could barley move.

"Joe, wait!" Harry tried again, trying to twist around enough to get a glimpse of the other man's face.

Joe's response was to bring his right hand down _hard_ across both taught cheeks, causing Harry to suck in a surprised breath and quickly squeeze his eyes shut at the sudden pain.

"I'm going to teach you the most important lessen of this household," Joe began as he lifted his hand high. He brought it down sharply in the same spot.

"What…happens…when…you… _deliberately_ …disobey me," he added, punctuating each word with a painful slap to a cheek, causing Harry to flinch with the force of each one.

"Don't do this!" Harry begged as he squirmed over Joe's knee. "You already spanked me once today!"

"Apparently that one didn't sink in!" Joe shot back as he smacked him over and over, the swats ringing out in the otherwise silent kitchen. "I guess I was too lenient with you. I won't make that mistake again," he added dangerously.

Harry snarled in response and redoubled his efforts to get up. He hated this, hated the pain of the spanking, hated being forced to take it, hated being held down across Joe's lap like a child. At least the last two times he had been somewhat upright. Being face down across Joe's knees took away any modicum of control he might have had and placed it all in the other man's hands. He wasn't even supporting his own weight. All Harry could do was lay there take every single smack against his ass until Joe decided he had enough.

Joe held him down easily as he continued to spank him. Already aware that he wouldn't be able to break Joe's hold but too stubborn to stop himself from at least trying, Harry reluctantly settled down across Joe's knees and decided to stoically wait the other man out. He'd show Joe that this didn't faze him and then maybe he would realize what a ridiculous decision this was and stop.

Both men were so preoccupied with their battle of wills that they hadn't noticed Cecile walk in and over to the counter. She paused a moment before coming to stand before them.

"Joe?" he heard Cecile say his name and he paused the spanking to look up at her, preparing to persuade her that this was necessary if she was here to urge him to rethink this. He stopped himself though when he saw what she was holding in her small outstretched hand.

Harry felt the cessation of burning swats and gratefully turned his head towards Cecile, thinking she had decided to step in and come to his rescue like she had done earlier that day. He was quickly disabused of that notion though when he spied her out of the corner of his eye holding out a wooden spoon to Joe.

Both men looked up at her quizzically.

"Make this lesson count," she said with a determined look on her face, giving Joe an encouraging look while favoring Harry with a disapproving one.

Harry quickly looked away and to the floor as he felt Joe lean over his back in order to take the spoon from her. The fact that she seemed to approve of this made it all the more worse for him.

Joe grabbed the still damp handle of the spoon they had washed earlier and nodded to her, appreciating her support and once again reminded of what a good team they made together.

She smiled knowingly in response before turning around and disappearing into the living room. This time was between the two of them and she didn't want to make this worse for Harry by being a spectator. She'd let Joe lay down the law and then they could all sit down and settle this between the three of them.

Harry seethed to himself as he listened to Cecile leave the room. His left hand balled into a fist on the floor as his right twisted uselessly around the chair leg he hadn't recalled grabbing. A moment later he felt a tapping on his left buttock and immediately tensed.

"You better be damn grateful she hadn't asked me tp pull your slacks down as well," Joe said as he tapped the spoon repeatedly over Harry's backside, getting him used to the feel of it. He wasn't heartless after all and he didn't know if Harry had ever been spanked with a spoon before. He could feel the slim man shifting over his knees, the tapping of the spoon agitating him.

"You wouldn't," Harry replied and it was more of a warning then a statement. The spoon popped him a little harder and he jerked in surprise.

"Don't test me and we won't have to find out," Joe told him as he tapped him a couple of times on the back of his thighs. Harry immediately started shifting his legs. "You earned this with your childish actions, losing your temper, then trying to sneak off like some teenager," he added as he tapped the spoon down harder. "In this house, when I tell you to do something, you do it. No questions asked and you do not disobey me," he explained as he raised the spoon up high.

When the implement connected with his cheek in a full force swat, Harry's breath hitched in his throat and his eye's immediately started to tingle with burgeoning tears as the pain registered in his brain.

"Jesus!" this was so much worse then Joe's hand! The pain was incredibly sharp and focused on a smaller area, increasing the sting and discomfort. There was no way Harry was going to be able to ignore any swats from that spoon.

"Wait a minute! Stop!" Harry called desperately over his shoulder as the spoon struck him again and again. Why was this so much more painful?

Joe ignored him as he focused on the lower curve of Harry's backside, right where he would feel it most when he sat down. He tightened his hold around the slim waist as Harry's struggles increased, the spoon doing it's job and quickly bringing the discomfort level up much more efficiently then his hand. Joe swatted the squirming backside over and over, ignoring Harry's sounds of distress as he popped it over every inch.

"This is really starting to hurt," Harry hissed out as Joe landed a few smacks to his upper thighs. "Stop!"

"Just starting?" Joe asked him disbelievingly, increasing the force of his strikes slightly.

Harry immediately realized his mistake and cursed. He twisted slightly in the other man's hold to bring his right hand up onto Joe's left knee, pushing against it as he tried to leverage himself up. When all that did was earn him several hard swats to his sit spots, Harry released Joe's knee in order to fling his hand behind him, desperately trying to cover and protect his smarting rear.

Joe immediately stopped, not wanting to hit Harry's hand with the spoon. He might actually hurt him with the wooden instrument. He paused to let them both catch their breath.

"Move your hand," Joe finally ordered him, though not unkindly. He could see Harry shake his head as it hung down over his knee.

"No," he answered, the strain in his voice evident.

"Harry, move your hand," Joe tried again, gently rapping the knuckles of Harry's hand with the handle of the spoon. Harry twitched but his hand remained in place.

"Please, I've had enough," he said over his shoulder as Joe rapped him a second time with a little more force. Still the hand didn't move.

"I'll decide when you've had enough and the fact that you are _still_ disobeying me shows that we are far from finished," Joe explained as he flipped the handle around again so he was gripping it and aimed the spoon lower on Harry's thighs, safely out of reach of Harry's protective hand and began spanking him rapidly, landing swat after stinging swat across the sensitive skin covered by the thin material of his dress slacks.

Harry reacted immediately, arching over Joe's lap, his legs kicking, his hand desperately trying to cover this new area of attack.

"Joe!" Harry cried out as the other man spanked him, twisting as much as Joe's hold would allow. In desperation he even tried to grab the spoon but it was just out of reach. His feet scrambled against the floor and his breath was beginning to come out in harsh puffs. He wasn't going to be able to take much more of this.

After a moment of this rapid fire spanking, Joe stopped.

"Let's try this again," Joe said after one last swat, bringing the spoon back up to Harry's hand and tapping it gently. "Move your hand."

Miserable and defeated, Harry slowly lowered his hand to bring it down on the floor next to his other hand. He laid heavily against Joe, trying to even out his breathing as he closed his eyes, waiting for whatever Joe decided to do next, knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Joe held him close, feeling the tension in the taught muscles. He knew that this was hard for the other man and was pleased when Harry actually followed his instruction without complaint. They were making progress here. Now to finish it up. Joe _had_ been a bit lenient with him earlier that day and he wanted to make damn sure he didn't make that same mistake again. This was a very important lesson he needed to get across, one that Harry needed to learn as quickly as possible in order to save all of them a world of hurt later on. Joe needed to make sure Harry knew for certain what happened when he disobeyed in this house and the only way Joe could insure that was if he made it to where Harry felt the pain of this spanking for at least the rest of the night. With that in mind, he raised the spoon once more.

Harry bit his lip as the spoon snapped down on his already sore backside. Over and over it fell, the pain building to intolerable levels. He tried to keep as still and quiet as possible but his body had a mind of his own and jerked with each swat. His hands clenched and unclenched as he sucked in breaths that each swat tried to steal from him. The spanking seemed to go on forever. Harry could feel the burn of tears welling up in his eyes and desperately tried to hold them back but as the spoon continued to make constant, firm contact, he couldn't help it when a couple slipped down his cheek. He immediately reached a hand up to wipe them away, scrubbing at his traitorous eyes underneath his glasses. 

Joe felt the movement and glanced over to see Harry wiping at his face with his right hand and realized he was probably crying. This was definitely the sign he had been waiting for and after giving Harry one last pop to a sit spot, he tossed the spoon into the sink behind him. He removed his restraining hand from around Harry's waist and placed his left hand on his back as his right gently cupped the other man's hip, patting it soothingly as he waited for Harry to realize the spanking had stopped.

It took Harry a moment to comprehend the spanking had indeed stopped. He lay there across Joe's lap as he tried to get himself under control. His backside stung badly, the skin tingling with the residual pain from the spoon snapping down. It was all he could feel at the moment, his mind razor focused on the pain in his backside. He felt Joe shift slightly underneath him and that finally penetrated his brain that it was over and he needed to get up. He tried awkwardly to maneuver himself up but he felt Joe's hand on his back push him back down, forcing him to lie back down across his lap, allowing Joe to take all his weight and support him. He placed his hands back on the floor and risked a glance over his shoulder, wondering what Joe was up to now and why he wouldn't allow him up.

"Just lay there for a second," Joe told him quietly as he patted him on the back, rubbing his large hand up and down Harry's spine.

Harry didn't question him but more importantly, didn't argue with him as he settled back against him.

Joe kept Harry over his lap for a few minutes, listening for his breathing to even out and allowing him to get his emotions under control. He knew Harry would be embarrassed for Joe see his tears so he waited, giving Harry the time he needed. When the dark haired man began to shift uncomfortably across his lap, Joe decided they had both calmed down enough. He patted Harry's right hip to get his attention.

"What's the most important rule of this house?" Joe asked him. He could feel Harry tense then relax with a heavy sigh.

"Do not disobey you," he mumbled miserably towards the floor. Joe smiled down at him but Harry didn't see it as he was still facing downwards.

"I know this seemed a little harsh but I needed to make sure you got the message this time. I don't want to do this again," he admitted truthfully, as he continued to rub Harry's back.

"That makes two of us," was the muffled reply. Joe stifled his snort of amusement as he patted Harry's back one last time before reaching down and under him to help him stand up.

Harry braced his hands on Joe's left thigh and carefully pushed himself back and up with Joe's help. The movement of his slacks against his punished rear immediately reignited the sting and he hissed in pain, his hands automatically going back to his rear to rub as he stood up. At this point he didn't care if Joe saw him doing this. The pain was sufficient enough that he was going to do whatever he had too to somehow lessen it.

Joe moved the chair out of the way before turning back and giving Harry a searching look.

"Are you okay?" he asked him gently.

"No," Harry rasped out, giving him a side glance as he continued to rub out the sting.

"Uh huh, " Joe commented as he smiled at him. Reaching out, he grasped Harry's left arm, pulling it away from his backside and gently steering the dark haired man towards the corner and the lone stool that was still sitting there.

"Seriously?" Harry blurted out as Joe's intention became clear. Joe positioned him next to the stool, releasing his arm and pointing at the seat.

"Dead serious. I put you in this corner for ten minutes but you didn't stay there. So now we're going to try this again," Joe explained as he waited for Harry to take his seat.

Harry looked at him desperately.

"Joe, can't we just skip this?" he begged him as looked down at the hard wooden seat.

"Do you want to go back over my knee?" Joe asked him warningly, giving him a pointed look.

Harry sighed in resignation. He wasn't going to get out of this but maybe he could at least get Joe to compromise. He knew sitting on that stool would be tortuous for his recently punished bottom. He suspected that Joe knew that as well but he tried to appeal to him anyways.

"Can't I at least stand?" he pleaded.

"Sit down on that stool or I start smacking again," Joe warned him with a note of finality in his voice.

Harry sighed quietly to himself as he reluctantly turned his back to Joe and slowly lowered himself down on the seat. He perched right on the edge, placing his hands on either side of the stool to try and take some of the pressure off. It still hurt just as much as he thought it would.

"All the way, and place your hands in your lap" Joe admonished him and Harry closed his eyes in defeat. He reluctantly slid further back onto the hard surface as he removed his hands to place them where Joe instructed. The pain seemed to triple as his full weight rested on his backside and Harry hissed out in pain at the discomfort. He shifted uncomfortably but that only made things worse. How was he going to sit here for ten minutes?

"Ten minutes start now," Joe told him as he checked his watch.

Harry heard him walk further into the kitchen before he heard the sound of a chair being moved across the floor. He risked a quick peek behind him to see Joe sit himself down in the chair, facing Harry and the physicist realized he was intending to sit here with him, probably in order to make sure he didn't try to stand up or alleviate his discomfort in any way. Oh, that was just _evil_ …

"Nose in the corner," Joe called out with a snap of his fingers and Harry quickly turned back around to face the bland wall.

Joe kept a close eye on the slim man as he shifted on the stool. This was part of the lesson he was trying to teach the other man. If he had simply done what he had been told the first time, he wouldn't be sitting in the same corner with a sore backside now. He heard movement off to his side and turned to see Cecile standing in the doorway. She gave him a questioning thumbs up and Joe had to put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. He returned it with one of own and she smiled that big beautiful smile of hers before turning back into the living room.

Harry couldn't find a comfortable spot no matter where he shifted. It seemed like every part of his backside was equally sore and he admitted sourly to himself that Joe had done a thorough job. He sighed again as he checked his own watch. Nine more minutes to go. Damnit…


End file.
